Left is Judge Paul F. Harris, who resigned Feb. 25, 2018, as per Maryland law that judges step down from the bench by their 70th birthday. Right is Judge Paul G. Goetzke, who filed for Ordinary Medical Disability Retirement.

Left is Judge Paul F. Harris, who resigned Feb. 25, 2018, as per Maryland law that judges step down from the bench by their 70th birthday. Right is Judge Paul G. Goetzke, who filed for Ordinary Medical Disability Retirement. (Capital Gazette)

An assistant state’s attorney has made the nominating list of 10 individuals vying for two openings on the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court bench.

Pamela Knoop Alban joins nine others who have been submitted to Gov. Larry Hogan. Hogan will select two new judges to fill the seats left by Judge Paul F. Harris Jr., who retired because of age, and Judge Paul G. Goetzke, who retired for medical reasons.

There is a third vacancy on the Circuit Court after Judge Michele Jaklitsch retired on July 31. The commission is not taking applications for her vacancy at this time.

Alban is an assistant state’s attorney who works for county state’s attorney Wes Adams.

The rest of the list includes a mix of private attorneys, a magistrate and an assistant attorney general. Four of the names were holdovers from a previous nominating pool submitted to the governor. Those names stay on the list for two years.

Alban did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Claude De Vastey-Jones, the deputy state’s attorney, applied but did not make the nominating pool.

A spokeswoman for Hogan said the governor has scheduled interviews and decisions will be made in the coming weeks.

Hogan and the nominating commission have been criticized by the county NAACP for not appointing any minority judges to the Circuit Court bench. At least two of the 10 nominated are black. The group has called on Hogan to appoint more minority judges within Anne Arundel County to better reflect the community.

Judicial candidates must be a Maryland resident and a registered voter, at least 30 years old and a member of the bar. They must live in Maryland for at least five years and in the geographic area for at least the past six months.

The governor appoints the judge for a 15-year term, but they must appear on the ballot for the next election cycle following their appointment.

Here is the list of nominees:

Pamela Knoop Alban, Assistant State’s Attorney

Robert Henry Brooke Cawood, Annapolis attorney

Andrew Brian Greenspan, Linthicum attorney

Michael Lee May, Glen Burnie attorney

Elizabeth Sheree Morris, Assistant Attorney General

Robert Jeffrey Thompson, Towson attorney

John Francis Gunning, public defender**

Charles Jay Muskin, Anne Arundel County Circuit Court magistrate**

David Patrick Putzi, Glen Burnie attorney**

Lorrianne Jeanette Rice, Bowie attorney**

**These judges were listed on a previous nominating pool.

District Court candidates

Former Circuit Court candidate Claudia Barber has again put her name into a pool of applicants, but this time she has her eyes on the Anne Arundel County District Court.

Barber is one of 25 who have applied to the one District Court vacancy. Judge Jonas D. Legum retired July 2. Other notable applicants include De Vastey-Jones, assistant state’s attorney Kelly Poma and Tracey Louise Parker Warren, who applied for the Circuit Court vacancies but was not recommended.

Barber did not respond to a request for comment.

The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet Saturday to select a pool of nominees. Those names will be submitted to the governor. District Court judges serve a 10-year term.

Barber tried on two separate occasions to join the Circuit Court through the election cycle. She lost races in 2016 and 2018. Barber has been active in the campaign to appoint and elect more minority judges to the Circuit Court.

Barber was an administrative law judge in Washington, D.C. She was dismissed from that position after an internal review found she violated her employer’s code of ethics by running in a partisan election in 2016. She was then ordered to reimburse her campaign $8,746 after spending campaign money to appeal her dismissal.

Her appeal is ongoing.

Staff writer Phil Davis contributed to this report.

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Jackson Dean Nicholson sang the National Anthem at the Arundel High School game Friday in Gambrills. Thousands of people have seen the video a fan posted on Facebook, and country music stations across the country reposted and commented on it.

Jackson Dean Nicholson sang the National Anthem at the Arundel High School game Friday in Gambrills. Thousands of people have seen the video a fan posted on Facebook, and country music stations across the country reposted and commented on it.

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Jackson Dean Nicholson sang the National Anthem at the Arundel High School game Friday in Gambrills. Thousands of people have seen the video a fan posted on Facebook, and country music stations across the country reposted and commented on it.

Jackson Dean Nicholson sang the National Anthem at the Arundel High School game Friday in Gambrills. Thousands of people have seen the video a fan posted on Facebook, and country music stations across the country reposted and commented on it.

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Midshipman Megan Viohl, from Sevena Park, discusses her assignment as a surface warfare officer after she graduates the Naval Academy.

Midshipman Megan Viohl, from Sevena Park, discusses her assignment as a surface warfare officer after she graduates the Naval Academy.

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Denise Robinson, of Odenton, searches for the grave of William H Whittington, who was the first person from Anne Arundel County to die during World War 1, while training at the Army's Camp McClellan in Alabama.

Denise Robinson, of Odenton, searches for the grave of William H Whittington, who was the first person from Anne Arundel County to die during World War 1, while training at the Army's Camp McClellan in Alabama.

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Larry Lee Thomas, Apostle/Bishop & Senior Pastor at Empowering Believers Church of The Apostolic Faith, speaks about recent acts of racism and how he hopes the community will come together to stop it. He spoke before The United Black Clergy of Anne Arundel County meeting Friday evening at the Mount Zion – Magothy United Methodist Church regarding continuing racist incidents at Chesapeake High School.

Larry Lee Thomas, Apostle/Bishop & Senior Pastor at Empowering Believers Church of The Apostolic Faith, speaks about recent acts of racism and how he hopes the community will come together to stop it. He spoke before The United Black Clergy of Anne Arundel County meeting Friday evening at the Mount Zion – Magothy United Methodist Church regarding continuing racist incidents at Chesapeake High School.